Gun Product Safety Notices

The gun industry is the only manufacturer of a consumer product that is exempt from federal health and safety regulation. As such, there is no federal agency that can require a gun manufacturer to recall defective guns or ammunition. Gun owners and the rest of the general public must rely entirely on gun manufacturers to take action when they determine that a gun or ammunition contains a dangerous defect.

Very often, gun manufacturers fail to act in a timely manner or to accurately describe the safety hazard. This can discourage owners of defective firearms from taking the steps necessary to remedy the problem. In fact, guns and ammunition that contain safety defects are very common. Reportedly, the National Shooting Sports Foundation acknowledges that 40 percent of all new guns contain some type of defect, a fact that prompted Truth About Guns, a pro-gun blog, to observe: “No other industry could survive with a failure rate like this.”

The gun industry’s lack of health and safety regulation also means that manufacturers cannot be compelled to fix any defects except by lawsuits brought by injured gun owners. Recently, in response to one such lawsuit, Remington agreed to replace millions of triggers in its popular Model 700 hunting rifle. Today, caveat emptor is the watchword for today’s gun buyer.

The VPC has initiated a project to collect defect notices from gun manufacturers in an effort to demonstrate the scope of the problem, help alert the public to specific defective guns and ammunition, and continue to focus attention on the gun industry’s unique lack of health and safety regulation.

Below are recent notices of safety hazards issued by the top gun manufacturers. (The list is by no means exhaustive.)

The Violence Policy Center is a national tax-exempt educational organization working for a safer America through research, investigation, analysis, and advocacy. The VPC provides information to policymakers, journalists, organizations, advocates, and the general public. Click here to learn more.